A Streetrat's Fable
by Anonymous Void
Summary: Sequel to A Streetrat's Tale. The journey of Duo Maxwell and his ever constant companion Solo continues into the heart of Japan. With spirits, old comrades, a cult, and the enigmatic Collective all wanting a piece of him, there might not be enough of this Death Mage to go around.
1. Konnichiwa Japan!

Author's Note: After a long, long time, the sequel to _A Streetrat's Tale_ is up. **Kibin Okami** messaged me some time ago, wanted to see if I wanted to continue the story and here is the first chapter. For those who are returning after…what, three years? Whatever, it's good to have you back. For those new, I recommend checking out _A Streetrat's Tale_ first. Most of the stuff in here won't make sense without reading that fic first. To make things more clear, some time has passed since the end of _A Streetrat's Tale_, two years to be precise and some events not covered by either story have occurred. This will be touched upon but not really explored, as they are not too important. It's just to show that yes, things have been happening between the two stories. Anyway, enjoy.

Kiban Okami: It's about time we finally got to this, eh? As Anon already explained, a lot has happened between our last fic and this one but much of it will be hinted at. We also have a number of new characters that I've gotten pretty well attached to for a number of years now. Mainly because I've used them before for other concept ideas but I thought they would work well very well in this fic as well. There are a number of characters that Anon brought in as well that I'm excited about. Without further ado, enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing.

Warning: language, spoilers for _A Streetrat's Tale_

Konnichiwa Japan!

_Magic, everyone has heard of magic. A source of power than can enable seemingly normal humans to perform outrageous and fantastical feats. For thousands of years, humans have known of it, practiced it, and used it for simple tasks to wondrous displays of power that can change the landscape of the planet Earth._

_In some cases, magic takes many forms from control of the countless elements, the manipulation of the physical world, to the reaches of that which is beyond the realm of the living. Some individuals stand out from others, becoming more than mere magicians and practitioners. Some through effort achieve this while others are born into it._

_Of these individuals, none is more mysterious or dreaded than the Death Mage. The Death Mage is a human selected by the entity known solely as Death, the possessor of many names and the ultimate winner of the game that is life, and this human is in turn gifted with the ability to use the powers of death to its will. None have ever puzzled out why such a being exists or for what purpose the Death Mage serves but most fear it while others worship it._

_Over the centuries, humans slowly began to leave it, turning to a new form of understanding their world, the ways of science. From rural society, cities emerged and from them came the eventual creation of space colonies that drift through the endless void of Outer Space. Magic, however, is ethereal and not completely subject to the laws and understandings of physics. In one form or another, it has managed to remain practiced and used, a secret culture and society forming around its tenets._

_One thing that has remained constant is the presence of a Death Mage._

_It is impossible to tell just who is the Death Mage or why this person is chosen. In this lifetime, the current Death Mage goes by the name of Duo Maxwell, one of the five infamous Gundam pilots and the self-titled God of Death, a hero to some and a mass murderer to others. Since childhood, he has been stalked by Death, those around him always coming to lethal if not violent ends. Only as he has reached maturity has young Duo become aware of what he is._

_Of those who have had the misfortune to pass away, a fellow young street urchin named Solo has managed to defy the odds and survive Death's presence due in part to the timely intervention of a man named Adrian Branwen. Amazed at the powers that this man possessed, Solo convinced his savoir to teach him abilities so that he could use them to help other suffering streetrats on his home colony in the L2 sector._

_Solo emerged from his magical education only to find that the world had changed and was no longer the one he knew. With the unexpected death of his savoir-turned-mentor, Solo ventured out into this brand new world, seeking out Duo Maxwell who had only just survived the end of a horrific war._

_The two young streetrats, pulled apart by tragedy, would soon find one another and reunite._

_Unfortunately, their reunion was only short-lived. Unbeknownst to them, an enigmatic organization known as The Collective had learned of what Duo was, that he was to be this generation's Death Mage. With plans to dominate all humanity, The Collective has been pursuing the Death Mage for millennia, relentless and determined._

_With the threat of his newly awakening powers being used to destroy all he had fought for, Duo went into hiding along with his old friend and the other four Gundam pilots. Of these pilots, only Quatre Winner had any knowledge of the Death Mage due to his family serving as guardians for this particular magic-user. With his expertise, Duo began to learn how to use these magical abilities in the hope to defend himself._

_The Collective would not be dissuaded; they pursued the small group across the globe, unaware of dissent forming in their own ranks. One of the seated members had ambitions of his own, ambitions that included taking over The Collective itself for his own and to do so needed the powers of death at his command._

_After one engagement, Duo found himself separated from the others only to find himself in the hospitality of Death's Hand, a cult of death worshipers who were the descendants of those who had sworn to serve the Death Mage countless years ago. Among these members was Une, the director of the Preventers who had been a former enemy of Duo's but was now his ally._

_His time with Death's Hand was short spent—the rogue Collective member baited a trap with Solo and the other pilots, forcing Duo to agree to give up his freedom in order to save them. Duo's friends, though, would not tolerate this and tracked them down to a medieval fortress and launching an attack that demolished the stronghold._

_Defeating the seated Collective agent and regaining his freedom, Duo came to the decision that he could no longer remain with his friends for so long as he did, they would always be in danger. With Solo refusing to be left behind and tagging along, Duo made good his escape into the unknown, always moving from place to place, eluding both friend and enemy while learning more and more how to use his powers._

_It has been two years since then and the tale of two streetrats continues…_

* * *

"The First Seat is growing impatient."

An anxious silence kept the small group of Collective officials quiet; anxious because it was a well-known fact that the First Seat had more patience than a saint and silent because none dared say anything that might attract too much attention to any of their persons.

The Second Seat, the de facto leader whenever the First Seat was not in attendance, eyed every one of the seated members, demanding that someone speak up. When nothing was forthcoming, the Second Seat didn't even let out a sigh in exasperation. Instead, he leaned forward in his seat and made his presence more oppressive by increasing the intensity of his magical aura. "Does anyone care to explain why the situation has gotten to this point?"

Again, none dared to answer the superior. Among those that saw it fit to remain silent and wait this out was the new Tenth Seat Jason Ciliars, also known to others as Windweaver. He was the youngest man in this dark chamber, an accomplishment that he himself was proud of.

Though, right now, it was an accomplishment that didn't bode well for him. The Second Seat's displeasure would only be a preview of what was to come should their master deign to show his.

"You know, I cannot believe that some of the magical world's most powerful magic users can't answer a simple question," the Second Seat stated, speaking as if this was a normal conversation. "How hard is it to capture one young man? It's something that normal, powerless humans can do with ease. How is it that none of you here can't accomplish what is done everyday?"

"Don't you think you are being a bit too hard on us?" the new Ninth Seat, Damasio as Jason knew him, asked. "With every day, the power of the Death Mage grows. He becomes harder to constrain. Normal binding spells are starting to lose their effectiveness since his death powers erode them. Finding him is another challenge by itself. Need I remind you that the boy was a Gundam pilot? And let's not forget about that shadow manipulator that sticks to his side like a loyal guard dog. He too has been growing in power."

"And this is to excuse your pitiful performances how?" the Second Seat asked dryly. "If any of you would bother to get personally involved in the Death Mage's capture, then this meeting would not be happening."

"It's not that simple anymore," Damasio argued. "Just five months ago, the Death Mage battled the former Eighth Seat in a one-on-one fight and defeated him. He is starting to become more of a match—"

"The Eighth Seat had let his own powers wane and deteriorate," the Second Seat interrupted. "His pride and arrogance were his own downfall; he learned nothing from the Phantom's mistakes."

"Wasn't it our current Tenth Seat who was originally assigned to capture him?" the current Fourth Seat asked. Jason did not like how the mindreader was directing his gaze at him. "The Death Mage had yet to realize his powers at that time. It was most opportune then to capture him and yet Windweaver's men failed that."

Bringing up old news?

"I see no reason why not to mention it Windweaver," the Fourth Seat remarked, intrusively reading his thoughts again.

"Mentalion, you have little to show for your efforts," the Second Seat came to Jason's unexpected rescue. "Care to explain how your students not only failed but were decimated?"

The Fourth Seat, Mentalion, said nothing and glowered instead.

"The First Seat has told me that should this stalemate continue longer, he will have to get personally involved," the Second Seat intoned. "The only reason he hasn't so far is that he has been attending to important matters that cannot otherwise be delayed. You all know the penalty that comes with Master Drako's intervention, correct?"

A shudder ran through them all.

"No more excuses. No more second chances," the Second Seat declared. "Enough time has been wasted. You know your primary duty. Locate and acquire the Death Mage by any means necessary. Kill anyone you have to, I do not care if it is the Vice Foreign Minister herself. Threaten, blackmail, abduct, just get your hands on the Death Mage at whatever cost.

"Your lives are included in that. Everyone from our new Seventh Seat and down to the new Fifteenth Seat, I want all of you to devote your resources to this assignment. Drop everything you are working on and that includes rivalries."

"Just a question, Second Seat, why aren't you doing what you are ordering the rest of us to do?" Damasio asked.

"Ninth Seat, there are still some matters that cannot be ignored despite their tedium," the Second Seat answered. "Despite that, only a minimum of us are needed to oversee them, leaving the rest of you with nothing else of importance to do. The time for playing around is over. Keep that in mind Damasio, the rest of you included. It is our time, no one else's. The opportunity to seize it is now. If we miss it, who knows how long we have to wait for it to come again."

The Second Seat paused as a presence made itself know though none of those assembled could actually see it. There was no need to be able to see it; they all knew who it was. The First Seat was checking in on them, observing them as if through a microscope. It was not a pleasant feeling but they also knew it was deliberate.

It was a simple reminder that there was one above them all, one who was more than willing to begin administering discipline should it be called for.

As quickly as it had frozen them, the presence was gone though not in thought.

"I doubt I have to say anything after that," the Second Seat finally spoke up after a moment that seemed to last an eternity. "Time is running out, not for The Collective, but for us. Let's not warrant our master's ire and obtain a success this time, hmm?"

Yes, success, that often-elusive concept. Jason would be seeking it out just like the others. This time, he would take the Second Seat's threatening advice and take part in this task personally.

He would not be humiliated again

* * *

There was a difference between incompetence and ineptitude.

Zechs Merquise, also known to most as Agent Wind, was having a difficult time figuring which was which. It was well known amongst the Preventers just how bad the Japanese branch of the organization was. It was the butt of countless jokes, talked about the water cooler as agents, whether they be field or desk, would always give thanks for its existence.

_Look on the bright side; at least we're not as bad as Japan!_

It was the last in everything. The last in good recruits, the last in successful operations, the last in bureaucratic efficiency, just basically it was the last in every category that could be conceived of.

Une was tired of it, sick of it as well. Thus she had managed to somehow pull some strings and bring Zechs all the way back from Mars of all places to come in and clean the place up. It wasn't that Zechs didn't want to leave Mars but…why? Why was it him who was supposed to clean up the mess of men whom he had never met and whose buffoonery was legend? Was this some sort of payback on Une's part for something he did in the past?

Apparently, Une trusted him to do a good job but still, he was going to need a miracle! Several! He may have been one of the best Mobile Suit pilots around, a decorated officer who had once been praised and adored for his abilities, his talent, and his sense of honor, and a man of integrity who knew when to spare the rod and spoil the child…but that didn't mean he was cut out for this!

Budgets, staff meetings that he was in charge of, reports after reports, and let's not forget periodic chastising of various agents who quite frankly should have been kicked out a long time ago.

At the very least, he looked forward to the upcoming, and unannounced, physicals that he was planning on using to serve as a basis for kicking some of these agents out. Preventers regulations stated that every agent, no matter what their position or duties were had to maintain a certain level of fitness and physical health. Only in this branch had he ever seen an obese agent.

He could not wait to show the results to Une and get her authorization for a…clearance. If he had to build this division up from the ground up, that was what he was going to do. The public depended on the competence of the Preventers to maintain the fragile peace that so many had died for, that he himself had fought for, and he would be damned if a small group of individuals compromised it!

You could tell he was frustrated, couldn't you? Yes, it was obvious, even to himself but he had been involved in this little project for almost a month. A month too long if you asked him. If he had to hear one more time that Yatsumoto had messed up the ammunitions shed again or that Hideki was illegally parked out front, he was going to do more than pull his hair out.

He was ready to put a new definition to the term going postal, whatever that phrase meant. Heard it some time ago but never got around to finding out what exactly it was. He had heard somewhere about it having something to do with the postal service and angry staff…

Maybe he needed some fresh air, hmm? Maybe he just needed to clear his head; he had been in this one office since he arrived and that was…this morning. And it was close to three in the afternoon. Had he had lunch in that amount of time? He wasn't sure… Was all the stress he was experiencing suppressing his appetite? If Noin were here, he was sure she would give him an earful.

Maybe he shouldn't just get out of the office for a bit; he should grab a snack, preferably in a place that wasn't in the cafeteria.

With a plan in mind, Zechs wasn't one to procrastinate. He carried it out immediately, informing one of the desk clerks that he was going out and that he expected the building to still be in one piece when he returned.

He'd tackle the issue of there being no more toilet paper later.

It was sunny out, the first thing he noticed as he exited the front entrance. With a cool breeze hitting him in the face, Zechs had the sensation of feeling free. It was a shame that this feeling wouldn't last long but he knew that he could only take what he could get and so had to make the best of it. A walk around the block ought to further clear his head.

Soon that block turned into two blocks, and those two turned into four, and the next thing Zechs knew he was further along than he had planned. It wasn't really something that was eating at him; it just meant it would take him longer to get back to base and he was in no hurry getting back. Well, since he had come this far, perhaps there was an eatery or a small restaurant, preferably not fast food, that he could stop at.

There were only so much poorly made hamburgers a man could take before he lost his mind along with any taste buds he may have left. However, he didn't want to get anything that would spoil dinner later on but with the way he was skipping meals already, that was most likely a moot point. Still, he didn't think getting a full-course sushi meal would be any better.

He paused in thought though he continued to walk so as not to obstruct the path of the other pedestrians using the sidewalk. Up ahead, he could have sworn…no, he was probably imagining it. It's just that…he could have sworn he had seen a braid up ahead.

At least, he presumed it to be a braid as he only saw the general shape of it. Color or anything else identifying about it was not available to him right—there it was again! Whipping and weaving through the Japanese urbanites like some kind of snake.

Why was it that seeing a braid was so important, you might be asking yourself? Well, to Zechs, there was only one person he knew of who had a braid of that particular length and even then he had only seen this person up close for a total of a minute. He had never been properly introduced but he had heard the stories.

Last he heard, wasn't Duo Maxwell supposed to be on some long-term undercover assignment? He wasn't stating, just repeating what he had heard. From what he knew of this individual, lengthy undercover work was not his forte. What was Une up to?

Also, was there some part of that assignment that required Duo Maxwell to be in Kyoto? He had not been informed of this; not that he was expecting to be informed of every single undercover op. It's just he assumed that Une would have told him about any that would be occurring in this region so while he wouldn't know specifics, he would be on the lookout so that he wouldn't unintentionally interfere.

Maybe, just maybe, he should check this out, just in case. He wouldn't make contact; he would just scope it out and whatever information he picked up he could use as leverage to get Une to tell him the truth and not lead him around.

But first he needed to confirm that this was indeed Duo Maxwell and not just some random person who just so happened to have a long braid, as unlikely as that sounded.

For a brief moment, he recalled that he was supposed to be working on shaping up the Preventers division that was stationed here. Well, it has been dysfunctional for this long. It would remain standing if he were to stay out longer than intended. Besides, if it did collapse in his absence, at least it would save him the trouble of renovating; he could go straight to rebuilding from the foundation instead.

* * *

When he had first come to Earth, he had never had much of a chance to really take in the sights. Of course, there were those lulls in all the action but usually he was in the middle of laying low and that took a lot more effort than you would think.

And when you think about it, he was doing the same thing in a way. Lying low, that is.

Unlike years ago when you knew who was chasing after you and those individuals happened to wear mandated uniforms, it was easy to dodge them. Now, though, there was no clue as to who could be a friend, who could be an ally, and more importantly who was an enemy.

It would be dangerous to just walk around in broad daylight, gazing up at everything with childlike wonder and amazed at some of the most mundane things you can come up with.

Duo Maxwell was a guy who liked to live dangerously. Whether it was piloting an awesome weapon of mass destruction or commenting loudly on just how tasty some ramen noodles from a vendor's stand were, he liked to live on the edge. So here's him flipping the bird to all types of rationality; he was not going to hide himself in a hole and huddle up into a ball while some ancient group of secretive magic-users sought to hunt him down like an animal and make him their slave.

That just wasn't living, man. It just wasn't!

Besides, it wasn't as if he was alone or anything. He had himself a partner of sorts. Dependable in a fight whether it was against megalomaniac Collective seats or the common case of boredom, Solo was the guy you could count on to watch your back.

In more ways than one, of course, but now wasn't the time for that kind of stuff. Later, when it was dark and nobody could hear—

"Thinkin' 'bout tonight, eh?" Solo's voice interrupted his train of thought. The taller blond who kept his hair in a ponytail winked at him saucily. "Got a lot of new material we can try out so it's not vanilla."

"And when did you find the time to get new material?" Duo asked.

"Here and there and maybe from some comic book porn," Solo answered without hesitation, his green eyes glimmering with fond memories. "I swear, this place is like the repressed sexual pervents capital of the world!"

"And that's Japan for ya," Duo nodded sagely as he returned to slurping up some noodles.

"So what d'ya wanna do after this?" Solo asked, looking around as he checked out their surroundings with a two-fold purpose. The first for any potential enemy movement and the second just to take in the place. It was amazing sometimes how Solo could appear almost childlike.

"I figure we walk around 'til we can't walk anymore, sit our asses down somewhere, and find someplace to stay the night. The usual routine," Duo said, letting out a small belch as soon as he finished speaking.

"Big boy," Solo teased him, referring to the burp. "Well, if that's how ya wanna do things, I ain't got a problem."

"For some reason…I have an urge to want to correct your grammar," Duo said, eyes gazing off distantly. Blinking and shaking his head as if to take it out of the metaphorical clouds, he straightened his shoulders as he finished lunch and threw his trash away, Solo copying him.

"Good luck with that. Adrian couldn't fix my speech an' I was stuck with him for what, ten years? Kinda blurs together sometimes," Solo remarked.

"That's just 'cause you're stubborn," Duo retorted as he took the lead, the taller blond following after him.

"Ain't that the pot callin' the kettle black," Solo teased in return.

"And just who are you calling stubborn, hmm?" Duo mock-glared back at the blond.

"Oh, I dun know, somebody who's _short_ and has a braid that's longer than he is tall," Solo drawled out.

"Well at least I don't act like how my hair dictates," Duo countered.

Solo frowned at that. "…act like how my hair…? What does that even… Is that a fucking blonde joke ya midget?"

"I can hear the wind tunnel," Duo taunted as he put an extra foot between the two of them.

"Ya just don't know when ta quit, do ya?" Solo accused, narrowing his eyes. Without warning, Solo lunged at the braided one but Duo, having already foreseen this, was already skipping ahead, his braid trailing after him tauntingly. "Get yer scrawny ass back here ya brat!" Solo roared after him, causing quite a few people to look at him in alarm as well as putting some space between them and him.

Naturally, Duo wasn't going to heed that. He wasn't that obedient or stupid. He knew he was risking an almost certain noogie but riling his old childhood friend turned something more but it was just too much fun pressing his buttons! It was like the old days except instead of being the much weaker Kid who Solo would without fail get in a headlock within the first few seconds of irritation, he now had years of experience as a Gundam pilot and the physical strength and mental edge that came with it.

Despite Solo being taller and more muscular, Duo had more than one time pinned the other down, a very nice reversal if he didn't say so himself.

Feeling more than seeing the first signs of magic use, Duo paused and scanned around for where the source was only to spot the shadows on the sidewalk moving in an unnatural way. Oh, so Solo thought he could grab him this way?

With subtle movements of his fingers that no one around him saw, he cast a shield around him that had some death magic imbued within it. The shadows wouldn't dare try to touch him that way. Heh, ya gotta do better than that Solo!

He looked over his shoulder with a smirk, a smirk that promptly dropped off his face as he saw that Solo was not quite as far away as he thought he was. In fact, he was just a couple yards off…

Time to follow the first part of his motto.

He weaved through the increasingly crowding sidewalk using all the grace he had in his body. For someone like him who could be the loudest person in the room at times, he had lot of that stuff, grace that is. A lot of people were surprised by that fact to be honest. All that meant was that he was casting his non-magical illusion properly; you'd be surprised how a few choice words and a certain behavior could accomplish what it would take a shit load of magic to do.

Solo, though, was really out of practice. Duo could remember a time when the blond could whisper through a crowd like a freaking ghost and come out with the pockets of his tattered pants full of wallets. Ten years, give or take some time because Solo couldn't say accurately how long he trained under Adrian, without needing to do that really made you rusty. Sure he could see Solo at times move around someone with all the ease of an L2 street urchin but more often than not he was jostling folks.

In a place like Japan where physical contact was typically restricted, this was not really being taken well. At the same time, in a place like Japan, people can tolerate a lot of stuff all the while planning your gruesome demise under a polite façade.

Let's just see how long Solo's luck would hold out until he got stopped.

A benefit of the death magic-laced shield he had up, people were unconsciously moving away from him. Their innate instincts were having them move away from the cold source of lethality and because this was all unconscious, no one was begrudging him. Couldn't say the same about the metaphorical bull in the china shop following behind him.

After playing this little game of chase for a while, Duo's heart pounding each time he saw just how far behind him Solo was, the braided one found himself suddenly out of the busy sections of the city. Heck, he kinda forgot when he left the crowds in the first place. Solo wasn't behind him anymore but that didn't mean squat.

Thanks to his manipulation powers over shadows, the blond could be hiding right next to him and Duo wouldn't know it until it was too late. Searching around with his eyes and trying to sense if there was anything magical humming nearby, Duo found out that yes, he was alone. He had lost Solo.

…what to do now.

Solo would find him again; he always did. But in the meantime, Duo would walk around a bit. There was still a bit of energy inside of him and he figured it would be best to work it all out now instead of having it pent up inside of him.

Now where was he? He couldn't have gotten lost so quickly, could he? Well, this wouldn't be the first time he got lost thanks to fleeing from Solo's wrath. Maybe he ought to stop invoking the blond's ire?

Nah. Like he was ever going to do that!

Yet he couldn't get that nagging feeling that demanded to know where he was. Who knows? He might need to head this way and it would be best to know how he did get there in the first place. Now let's see…what could he use as some kind of geographical marker?

Something caught his eye and he had to do a double take. Just across the street, he saw what looked like a traditional Japanese gate. He could see a set of stairs and green foliage blocking out what was beyond it and that had his curiosity rearing out.

Before he could stomp it out, the thought that perhaps this place held some kind of historic value occurred to him. If it had historic value, it would be something that would show up on, let's say, a map of some sort. A brochure map even.

A lazy smile formed on his lips; and some people thought he had trouble problem solving! He was much smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for.

It did occur to him that the place could be a front for something, anything, but he highly doubted it. Even with the remoteness to it, he couldn't feel any magical presence coming from it and after you've dealt with The Collective enough times, you knew that wherever they were there would be a huge magical concentration.

Now, this did not mean something of Preventers' interest wasn't hiding out in there but that kind of stuff wouldn't be out in plain sight. Plus paranoia in everybody there would be a giveaway that something was being hidden there.

Well, there was nothing for it. Might as well head on it and check the place out. Who knows, he might find something interesting there.


	2. Solo in Over Protective Mode

Author's Note: This chapter has the first of the new characters, all of them property of **Kibin Okami**. There's action, hopefully some comedy, and more intrigue. I'll admit, like _A Streetrat's Tale_, this story is going to be slow in starting but I like to take my time getting to significant events of a story and I'm lucky KO's willing to go along with me. This chapter's definitely longer than the last one, close to two thousand words longer and odds are it's not going to be the longest chapter. So, enjoy.

Kibin Okami: I actually like the idea of taking time with a fic. Ya I admit that I have been sitting at the edge of my seat in excitement whenever we get to a specific scene that has been in the works for quite awhile but generally speaking I only want what's best for this fic. I fully enjoy working with such an experienced writer such as Anon and it's been a whole hell of a lot of fun writing these fics. Please make sure to review and tell us what you think. Most of all, enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing.

Warning: language, violence

Solo in Over-Protective Mode

Climbing the stairs was not a challenge for someone at Duo's fitness level. Sure there were more steps than he cared to count but he wasn't breathing hard once he reached the top and entered the vast courtyard that separated the entrance from the shrine. Along the way, the plants and foliage that conquered the earth on either side of the stairs seemed greener. He had no other word to describe it. Healthy maybe?

Plant life aside, there was this sensation of peacefulness all about and any thoughts he may have had of excitement or action were eroded away by the serenity that he found himself in. It didn't stop his fingers from twitching, though, as some part of him would always be on edge. If it was peaceful and calm and looked too good to be true, then it was and should be viewed with suspicion.

Giving the impression of lethargy, he scanned the courtyard, taking in what looked like a well of some sort that was surrounded by a pathway of bricks outlined with small rocks and pebbles. There were trees but they were spaced out and placed in what looked like random positions. The grass, which held the same green hue of the plant life he had passed on the way in, was trimmed and tailored but giving no sense that a lawnmower had been put to it.

He could hear some birds tweeting overhead so that was a sign that there was nothing to fear here. At least, that was in the physical sense. For the magical, well, he wouldn't be surprised if the animal kingdom could be tricked by a simple spell. This was a different world than the one he was used to and in some ways he was still trying to keep up with it.

Solo had more experience with this; if there were some spells that were placed around, he'd detect them. Hopefully.

Turning his pondering away from that train of thought, he took in the shrine itself. Definitely traditional Japanese in style from the wooden roof and what looked to be wards placed on the walls here and there. Not surprising; probably placed to ward away evil spirits or something.

Despite all this and the tranquility around him, there was something that stood out to him almost immediately. There were no people around. No one. No tourists, no locals, no caretakers, nada. But the place looked like it was well-kept.

Maybe he should do a little investigating, hmm? Who knows, perhaps the place was in the middle of being robbed. Heh, good work those wards did, eh?

He stepped off the brick-laid path and out onto the grassy expanse, tromping towards a tree. He was casual in every move he made but his inner alertness was keeping watching for anything suspicious. Not even the serenity of this place could wear that down.

It was a good thing too; he hadn't taken five steps off the manmade path when he had the feeling that he was being watched. The sensation of eyes staring at you was something he disliked, almost to the point of paranoia. Eyes watching you was bad; eyes watching you meant danger was coming.

He stopped in his tracks and turned his body to face the direction in which he felt those eyes. Facing the way that he had come, he saw the traditional Japanese gate that he had passed under when he entered the shrine's courtyard, a gate identical to the one at the bottom of the stairs. He saw no one there but he wasn't put off. On the contrary, he continued searching, staring intensely at the scene before him until he turned his gaze more to the right.

Some feet away from the gate was what looked like a small two foot tower with a lantern at the apex of it. Curled lazily on top of this small structure, Duo spied what looked like a person whose eyes were staring straight at him. For a second, Duo had the image of a small dog in his head but banished the thought as this was clearly a person…with white hair…and very youthful. For another second, the image of Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a. Zechs Merquise came into his head unbidden and like the thought about the dog was banished too.

All Duo did was stare at the person and all the person did was stare right back at him. There was something about their eyes…something that was so soulful and yet so blank. Again, kind of like how a dog would look if you looked into a dog's eyes. Other than that, Duo was a bit too far away to make out any other details of those eyes.

However, he was soon able to make out some details of the person's body when he/she seemingly uncurled from a top the small structure he/she rested on.

First off, she (it was more apparent now) seemed to be wearing some sort of black armor, loose yet tight and reminiscent of something you would see on a long past assassin. The armor was of a scale design, armor plating forming a sort of a breastplate with more scales also covering parts of her sides down to her hips. Upon the grass, a barefoot settled gingerly into the soft blades followed by a second uncovered foot.

There was also something else about her that was irking his senses but what was it?

The person continued to move, each motion languid and it seemed like she was stretching her body with every step she took. Duo spotted two tuffs of hair that seemed to stick out on either side of her head and he wondered how she could have gotten bedhead from her previous relaxed position.

Now that he thought about it, how was she laying on that small statue thing comfortable at all?

Despite the fact that this person, whoever it was, was unsettling him, Duo decided to go into default mode whenever he felt discomforted.

"You work here? I'm new to the area, was walking along and came upon this place and wow, is that some kind of costume you're wearing?" Yeah, he was babbling. What of it? He found that when he did that, people tended not to think very highly of him. All the easier it was for him then to gain the upper hand later. "Is it hot? Are you hot? It's gotta be, what eighty degrees or something? I mean, I know I like black and wear a lot but sheesh, are you sure you're not getting overheated or something? Was that why you were lying over there? Did you just get over a heat stroke or something?"

"Ye talk a lot," the woman drawled out, her voice further confirming her femininity to the braided one.

"I hear that a lot," Duo replied without a care in the world.

"I bet," the woman said, coming to a stop only a few feet away from him. With eyes of an amethyst hue, the woman looked him up and down as if he was the one who was strangely dressed and not her. Duo refrained from narrowing his eyes but he couldn't help but make the comparison between this woman's eyes and his own.

He had seen his own reflection before, had seen that his eyes had become a rich purple-violet after the powers of the Death Mage had awakened within him, a large difference from the blue eyes he had known all his life. This woman's was lighter, not as dark as his own but still generally the color was close. For a second, he wondered if she too may have had contact with Death.

In all the places he had gone to, he had never seen another person with purple eyes. So why now?

"What's with the get-up?" he asked instead of bringing up the other burning question within him. "Is there some kind of reenactment going on?"

"Why're ye so interested in my ah-tire?" the woman asked, eyes sharpening. Funny, she had a bit of an accent showing up there. Made Duo wonder just where it was she came from.

"I don't mean to offend you, but you stick out dressed up like that," Duo felt the need to point out, pushing aside the questions about her eyes in favor of this topic.

"But this is whit ah always wear," the woman said, taking her eyes off of him for a second to look down at her outfit. "Whit's wrong about it?" she asked, her accented tone of voice demanding an answer as she reconnected eye contact.

"It's…uh…dated?" Duo suggested.

"Dated? It's fully function-el and permits me free movement while protectin' vital parts of ma body," the woman stated, raising her head slightly so that it made her look like she was looking down her nose at him.

Yep, add another name to the list of people he had offended. It was a pretty large one by now, no big deal.

He heard her take in a deep breath and his eyes were attracted more towards her head, this time to the two tuff of hair on either side of her head. "Did you just get out of bed? 'Cause that's some crazy bedhead you're sportin'."

"Ah _was _takin' a kip but it seems like some idiot broke it," the woman said, and was it just him or was she really sounding peeved?

"I'll have you know that I don't see any idiot around here," Duo said flippantly, a hand gesture waving dismissively. "So what's this place all about since it lets you dress up like that?"

"Ya like switching topics a lot, don't'cha?" the woman stated.

"I'm a curious guy; I like to know a lot of things," Duo shrugged.

"Even ta tha point that ya annoy everyone with yer voice?" the woman asked. "I'll have ta ask ya ta leave. This shrine _used_ to be restful and calming. I'd like for it ta return that way." She ended her statement by placing a graceful hand on his shoulder, a hand whose grip was anything but graceful.

Wow, it almost felt like Heero.

"Ya seem like a good kid but if ya would be so kind, I'm gonna have ta point you back the way ya came. Make sure not ta make too much of a ruckus on yer way," the woman said, her already incredible grip on his shoulder tightening.

Who was she calling a kid?! She seemed to be the same age as him if not maybe a year older. She was even the exact same height as him! He was about to tell her how many ways she could shove it and piss off when things decidedly took a turn for the worse.

"Get yer hands off him."

Duo blinked and slowly turned his head away from the strange woman and towards the entrance where, lo and behold, stood a very pissed off Solo. The blond's body language was screaming hostility and it was all focused solely on the woman that was gripping his shoulder.

Now, let Duo explain that there was a difference between Solo being irritated at him and Solo being angry. It was partly in the tone of voice and the rest was how still the blond would get. When Solo was ticked off, there was usually quite a bit of movement about him, which had it all the more easier for him to land a sneaking blow of retribution to his head. When Solo was genuinely angry, he was still as a statue with the small exception of perhaps a trembling of his body, as if his rage was threatening to break loose at any second.

When he had been a young boy on the streets, he had only seen Solo get this angry twice before and only one of those times had it been directed at him.

So he would like to add that he was a bit happy that Solo's anger, the real kind of anger and not his peeved anger, was aimed at the only other person present in this courtyard. He was also a bit squeamish that Solo's dark gaze was aimed at someone who was in close proximity to him and thus had him trying to squirm out of this woman's grip and put some distance between them.

"Who're you an' what makes ya think you kin tell me what ta do?" the woman demanded, eyes narrowing at the blond.

Duo was more scared at Solo's wordless reply as all the shadows in the nearby vicinity answered his call and reared up from whatever surface they were attached to.

* * *

After spending half the day chasing after this braided menace he called a close and personal friend, Solo was not in a very good mood. When he finally did track him down…ugh, Kid, Duo, whatever you liked to call yourself, why did you keep getting into these situations?

First thing was first, he had to protect Duo. To do that, he was going to have to separate the two.

With magic at his command, this would be easier done than said.

Heeding their master's wishes, the shadows that had obeyed his strong will rushed at the pair in front of him, forming a sharp wedge that was to go in between Duo and the apparently human woman beside him. Notice the word apparently because this "woman" was anything but.

He didn't get any sense of satisfaction as he saw the woman's eyes widen at his attack and she released Duo while leaping away. That was all fine and dandy with him as the shadows formed a wall between her and Duo, tendrils of shadows wrapping around Duo's lower legs and physically moving him further away.

Solo darted in front of the wall of shadow, putting himself as a shield between this feminine being and one of the most chaotic forces of nature he had ever known.

"So you think you can invade the sanctity of this shrine with your darkness do you?" the woman hissed, the accent that had been in her voice earlier neutralized. "Prepare yourself for battle, intruder."

She was swift, that was all Solo could say about her movements as she charged at him. He wasn't even sure her feet were touching the ground but the next thing he knew, she was in his face and he was barely getting his arm up to block the punch that was going for his head. He could feel the shock of the blocked blow reverberate through the bone and muscle of his arm and it provided maybe too much distract because the woman's leg was in his left side and he was flung away. His feet skidded against the brick walkway but he came to a stop and didn't lose his balance.

Hand feeling at the damage, he looked up and then lowered his head, crossing his arms in front of it and catching another punch in his forearm. Gritting his teeth, he tensed a leg then kicked it up, the woman moving away so that his foot sliced through the air uselessly.

She must have seen some kind of opening or something because she was moving in again, coming at his left side but this time he was aware of her movement enough that he called on some help. As if sensing it, the woman aborted whatever she was doing in favor of twisting out of the way as a large tendril of shadows lunged at her.

Growling, Solo summoned some more shadows and sent them lashing at her with the full intent of at least hurting her, damn that chival-whatever it was.

She must have been some kind of gymnast as her body was contorting in ways that were almost unnatural. She twisted this way, folded her body in a way that she was practically bent over in half, did a dodge that had her sliding against the ground, a push on the ground and up into the air—now he had her! A large tendril of shadow whipped at her and…did she just bend backwards?!

Enough of this! Three of them at once! Let's see her dodge this!

There was a look of realization on her face as she figured out what he was doing and then a white flash of flame enveloped her. The shadows that were too close jerked back and Solo could feel their shrieks as they withdrew warily. Crouching on her bare feet, the woman had the audacity to smirk at him as she slowly stood up, making a bit of a show of her sensuous movement.

"Slipped mah mind that shadows have a natural a'version to light," she commented, that accent from earlier coming back.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," Solo growled at her, the shadows hissing at her assertively.

"Ya don't want to play anymore? Fine with me," she growled playfully yet ominously.

Solo braced himself but was still no way prepared for the burst of speed that had her back in his face again. Half of her arm was engulfed in white flames and she swiped it in front of her, slicing into the shadows and banishing them away. Letting the momentum of her arm take control, she allowed her body to turn as she slammed a foot into the ground, making her body spin while her other leg performed a roundhouse kick that landed right into Solo's chest.

Solo barely felt the blow but it seemed like the pain was a delayed reaction. The world seemed to be flying by and then his back met the earth and it all caught back up with him. He gasped, air flying out of his lungs as he bounced off the ground, suspended in the air for a second and then reacquainted himself with the dirt.

A hand pressing on his chest, Solo pushed himself up with his other arm and panted harshly, one of his eyes half closed but both glaring at the bitch.

And then that bitch was up close again.

Both of his hands flung downwards and his legs closed together, acting as a clamp on the woman's foot that had been heading straight for a very sensitive place. Hands were braced against her lower leg but then something…strange happened.

She must have had a lot of strength in her body because when her foot didn't meet manly bits, she let the force still in her leg aid her in actually lifting him up and off the ground. Her leg was now sticking straight out, parallel with the ground and Solo literally sitting on it. With fingers folded onto themselves, a palm was rushing right for his head Solo barely having time to blink.

In that blink, a tendril shadow cut right in, wrapping around the woman's wrist and shoving it to a side so that the blow missed Solo's head. However, the bitch must have sharpened her nails on a regular basis because her thumbnail grazed his cheek but left behind a shallow scratch that had blood leaking out of it.

Letting his hands go of her leg, he balled them into fists. Pressing his fists against one another, he threw as much strength behind them as he could and rammed them right into the bitch's breasts. While not as sensitive as a man's junk, hitting the breasts of a woman was the equivalent of hitting a guy in the nads.

Even though she was wearing some weird kind of armor, she cried out in pain as her leg dropped and Solo, after gritting his teeth and doing his very best to ignore the crushing pain in his hand, recalled that he wasn't supported by his own two feet. He was back on his back again but he was rolling to a side while launching a fisted-ended pillar of shadow right into the bitch and sending her away express.

Apparently, forgetting that he hadn't been standing on his own two feet wasn't the only thing that had slipped his mind. There was still that tendril of shadow wrapped around her wrist and she grabbed it with her free hand.

Solo's green eyes were practically bulging as she used the shadow as some kind of bungie cord to slingshot herself right back at him. He was scrambling away as fast as he could, barely getting out of the way in time as the woman's foot slammed into the ground, chunks of earth clumping around the impact sight and around her limb.

Pulling her leg out of the earth, she was using that speed again but this time she was using it to keep her out of sight. Well, out of sight until a fist found its way into his gut and then vanishing again. Solo was barely comprehending this blow when another one got him in the back, then the face, then in the arm, the thigh, and he began losing count.

When he was able, he shielded himself with a layer of shadows to buy himself a little time but he had forgotten that she had those white flames which were being used to slice through his hastily set up defense.

Man! How was he going to beat her if she was moving so fast that he couldn't see her? Wait…there was that…but he hadn't used it outside of keeping track of Duo when that menace decided to go all "invisible man" on him.

Well, he had nothing else.

Chanting a few words that had absolutely no meaning and whose use was only to focus his mind, Solo first used a teleportation spell to take him away from the center of his assault and buy a little more time. Calling on his shadows once more, instead of concentrating them into things like tendrils or swarms and other such things, he had them blast out around him, covering the entirety of the courtyard like a thin blanket. You could still make out the grass but it was all a dark color now and—

He blocked the fist that had been coming his way, the shadows informing him from which direction it was coming from. A footstep away and then to a side and—another blocked kick. She was still moving fast but now he was able to detect where she was better.

He kept his fists raised in front of his face as he jerked from an attack coming from his right and were those sharpened toenails slicing through his sleeves? He threw a fist in a counter but the woman blocked him and he pulled his fist back before she could do anything to use it against him. He took to dodging as she returned a volley of punches and kicks at him, a couple hitting him but with enough warning he was able to somewhat lessen the impact of them.

Abruptly, the woman pulled back, putting some space between them. She was eyeing him, as if measuring everything about him and analyzing what it meant. Continuing to pant, Solo traded her look for look and while her eyes may have been picking apart his life story, he wasn't getting much out of her except that she was tough and knew how to fight.

"You're better than I was expectin'," the woman said. A growing smirk on her lips foreboded something that Solo knew he was not going to like. "Let's take it uppa notch."

The air began to move and while it felt like just the breeze at first, it was picking up and the woman seemed to be right in the center of it all. The air was spinning around her faster and faster—and was it lifting her up off the ground.

Solo felt his body slacken a bit as he watched her fly higher and higher. There was a swipe of her arm and the next thing the blond knew, he was buffeted with a wall of air that had his feet plowing up the dirt as it pushed him backwards. It was a miracle that he was still on his two feet because honestly, it felt like a wall had smacked into him.

He could feel the shadows were in disarray, trying to figure out what was going on so that it could report back to him. Then his head was filled with a mind breaking shriek; from above the woman had blasted down onto the ground a funnel-like pillar of wind that was laced with that white fire from before and it was ripping and tearing all the shadows that had covered the battlefield.

Solo felt himself being pulled towards the funnel and he tried to anchor himself with some shadows. He could still feel the pull but with the shadows holding onto him, he now felt like he himself might be ripped in half. One part of him was being pulled _this way_ while the other was being held back _that way _and it was just not working out for him.

And then another blast of air, this time in the form of a mini-tornado, cyclone, whatever, smacked right into him and he felt himself being forced backwards. He was held down by his shadows but the force from the one big tornado was pulling him back again and that pulling sensation returned with a vengeance.

Solo gritted his teeth at the constant changing of pressure as a second attack knocked him over onto his stomach but he took the latest fall to pin himself down with his shadows and hopefully he wouldn't feel like his organs were trying to force their way out.

From above, the woman was forming one more mini-cyclone thing and from the way it was spinning, Solo felt like this one was going to hurt a lot more than the others. If he didn't want to risk getting sucked in by the larger tornado, he would keep put but if it did that he was a sitting duck for this upcoming attack. Damn it, what was he going to do?

The woman blasted her attack down at him and Solo refused to look away from it, determined to meet his possible death head on and not look away like a pussy.

A purple orb intercepted the cyclone and tore it apart like paper but it didn't stop there. The orb seemed to splatter against the larger cyclone funnel but that seemed to do the trick as all the rushing wind just stopped, simply stopped. Having the wind literally taken out of her sails, the woman plummeted to the ground and Solo was a bit jealous that she managed to land on her feet though she had to go into a crouch.

He did see her look of surprise when all her wind left her so that was something to soothe his manly pride.

The woman snarled this inhuman growl, her head jerking around for the source of the intervening purple ball but she was suddenly slammed into the ground as this ungodly magical aura settled over them, the pressure of it pinning both of the opponents down. His shadows were fleeing as if death itself was on their heels and abandoning their master to this new development.

The only other thing that was moving was a pair of black combat boots and oh. Oh. Solo's eyes quivered a bit as he realized what this was. Death had decided to break it up.

Sure, the body was Duo's but the face was a freaking skull with purple flames shooting out of the eye sockets malevolently. And let's not forget about that rope of a braid that was holding itself up in the air and moving about like it had a mind of its own.

FYI, just so you know, it did. Solo had seen the mouth and sharp pointy teeth to prove it.

"_Enough. Both of you_," Death's much deeper voice spoke, replacing Duo's much lighter and frankly easier on the ears voice.

The woman was staring up at Death, her eyes little pinpricks and fear reflecting in them. "What…what are you?" she gasped out.

"_It is I who should be asking the questions,_ okami_,_" Death replied back as he approached her. "_Fortunately for you, I need not ask any. I know everything about you from time immemorial to what you were doing this morning. It is not my place to speak any of it aloud as there are things you will have to answer for, maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even in the next decade, but in all due time. Swear you shall not harm my chosen or his guard and I will relieve you of my presence._"

"W-what," the woman, or _okami_ as Death called her, gasped out.

"_SWEAR!_" Death ordered, purple light pouring out of the eye sockets along with a blare of flames.

The _okami_ bowed her head. "I…I swear."

"_You swear to do what?_" Death pressed.

"I-I swear not to…not to harm your chosen or his guard!" the _okami_ blurted out, desperate to be rid of Death.

Solo winced as the clacking of bones as Death "grinned" down at her. That sound always put him off…

"_And you,_" Death continued, turning towards him and putting the blond in the hot seat now. "_This battle was unnecessary. Next time ask questions and then attack once a threat has been determined._"

Solo nodded and gave out a meek "yes" to placate the entity that was inhabiting Duo's body.

There was what sounded like a grunt and Death's oppressive aura lessened. It was easier to breath now and Solo watched in morbid fascination as muscle, tissue, and skin weaved itself all around Duo's face, forming the one visage that the blond adored and was at times irritated with.

Duo blinked his eyes, real eyeballs in them and not mere sockets, and he looked around at the place as if this was the first time he was seeing it.

"Crap, it happened again, didn't it?" Duo moaned out loud.

Before Solo could confirm it, he was interrupted by a new voice introducing itself.

"What in the name of heavenly Buddha is going on here?!"

* * *

"KOSSORI!"

Duo didn't know if what he was seeing was correct. Truly, he didn't. To make sure that he was indeed seeing this, he shut his eyes for a second and reopened them and when he still saw the sight, pinched himself.

Ow! Since that hurt then that meant the young woman approaching the three of them was indeed wearing red baggy pants, a hakama he believed it was called, and a white billowy haori. He had seen entertainment shows that showed Japanese shrine maidens in this kind of outfit but he had always thought that it was just fiction. They really wore those things and in those colors too!

Long, black hair trailed behind her, cuffing about her as she came to a stop before them. Duo frowned when sunlight struck the strands and he swore he could have seen red in those locks. The only really offsetting thing about her was the scar across her right eye. It wasn't really garish but it was the most striking feature she seemed to have.

"Hey…" the woman on the ground, presumably this "Kossori" that this shrine maiden seemed to be addressing.

As if not hearing her, the shrine maiden demanded, "What's going on? What did you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything," Kossori whined and was it him or did those tuffs of hair lower? "These two guys showed up and started making trouble."

Duo found himself being the recipient of a very unimpressed stare and man were those eyes of her's sharp! He felt like they could slice right into them! He was glad when those eyes looked away from him and then it was Solo who had to brave it. He had to give his friend credit, Solo didn't quiver.

Not that he'd be able to blame him. Shrine gals were scary folk.

"For some reason, I doubt it," the shrine maiden said with the tone of a chastising mother. "Care to describe how they could summon that dark presence? Several of my wards and charms burned up on the spot, including the one that I was holding! How do you explain that?"

"I'm telling the truth!" Kossori protested. "That one," a "clawed" finger pointed directly at Duo, "changed into this creature, I don't even know what it was! I've never seen it before! And he changed right back before you came out!"

"Is that so?" the shrine maiden said as she turned her dreaded gaze back on Duo.

Not liking it one bit and not willing to strike a girl, Duo thought to try and talk his way out of…whatever this young woman might be planning. "I don't mean to point any blame here but I think your friend might be a bit—"

He never got a chance to finish what he wanted to say. Somehow, the shrine maiden was right in front of him and the next thing he knew, she interrupted him by slapping this piece of paper right onto his face. Though his eyes were closed, one of his hands was gripping the shrine maiden's wrist in an iron grip, a reflexive reaction to tell the truth.

Most of the time when people tried to do anything involving his face, it was usually to hit it. The fact that she actually managed to land whatever it was that she had stuck to his face only meant that he was getting rusty. He was usually quicker than this.

Behind him, he could hear Solo snort, as if holding his amusement in. Yeah, laugh it up big guy.

Releasing the wrist, he used that same hand to grip a corner of the paper and peel it off. Funny, there wasn't any adhesive to it…

Turning the paper over, he raised an eyebrow at the Japanese characters of which he could not read a word of. Why the hell had she slapped this onto his face?

"Are you sure you saw what you saw?" the shrine maiden was interrogating Kossori again.

"I don't understand…" Kossori said, staring right at him.

The shrine maiden seemed to be considering something and then pulled out an identical paper with the same Japanese characters on it as the one that Duo held. Before this Kossori could do anything, the shrine maiden was slapping it right on her face and Kossori literally froze in her position.

"Huh. They work," the shrine maiden said as if she was commenting on the weather. "So there's nothing wrong with them. Then why didn't they…?"

"Uh, what's wrong with her?" Duo asked, staring at the strange sight.

"Duo? Ya can't tell me ya haven't noticed," Solo spoke from beside him.

"Noticed what?" Duo asked, looking up at the blond.

"That chick ain't human," Solo stated, his green eyes trained on Kossori.

"No way," Duo said, giving Solo a disbelieving look.

"You know?" the shrine maiden whipped her head towards them, emerging out of her thoughts and staring the both of them down. Her eyes narrowing, Duo could feel a surge in magical energies and his body tensed.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Solo tried to pacify the shrine maiden. "We're not here for her. I was just chasing this runt," his side of the blond's foot kicked up against the side of Duo's calf, "and he came in here. She was da one who was doing tha advancin'."

"I. Was. Leading. 'Im. Out," Kossori forced through gritted teeth.

"So you're not here for Kossori," the shrine maiden asked though she didn't ease up the magical tension one bit.

"Lady, we don't care about her," Solo stated, giving her a meaningful look. "We just showed up in town today. Never knew this place existed."

"So she was right? Are you responsible for that dark presence?" the shrine maiden questioned.

Solo gave him a sideways glance, telling him that this was his question to answer. Thanks a lot. "I don't know about dark but it shook her up," Duo admitted.

"And yet my wards don't work on you," the shrine maiden murmured though she wasn't as quiet as she thought she was.

"What is this thing anyway?" Duo asked, waving the paper that was still in his hand.

"That's a demon ward," the shrine maiden answered. "It pacifies demons and various spirits, like this _okami_ right next to me."

"You mean, that lady is actually…?" Duo said incredulously.

"Didn't believe me?" Solo snorted at him.

Even from the few feet that was between them, Duo was still able to pick out some details of this Kossori, like how her fingernails really resembled claws, only her canines were more elongated than what was normal for a human…

And then there were those tuffs of hair that weren't tuffs of hair. Those things were Goddamn ears. Ears!

There was only one thing he could say to this.

"Well fuck me sideways," he gaped.

Beside him, Solo crossed his arms and lowered his head, a smirk on his lips. "Challenge accepted."

* * *

He waited until the small group entered the shrine before he let out a sigh of relief. They hadn't seen him yet. Why did he feel so much relief about it, though? It wasn't as if he was trying to hide anything.

At the same time, he needed to be careful. How many times had he undertaken something only for it to blow up in his face? Too many times to count and the fact that many others suffered along with him…it was best not to rush into it.

Pulling away from his hiding spot behind the gate of the shrine, Zechs made his way down the steps, pondering about all that he had seen and heard.

He had lost sight of his target earlier, that target being none other than Duo Maxwell when the braided young man played his game of chase with his blond-headed companion. Zechs knew he shouldn't have been surprised by how quickly Duo managed to disappear out of sight; he had heard the rumors and stories of how this particular pilot operated though he rarely had the occasion to engage him. Fortunately, he managed to keep track of the other young man who surpassed Duo in height and managed to follow undetected.

Why the blond man had gone to this shrine after a lengthy and almost time consuming chase, Zechs had not known until he managed to once again catch sight of Duo. It was odd how the blond was able to do it but what happened next had thrown odd out the window and taken a turn towards unbelievable.

It had been a battle; that was the best way to describe it. The blond had gotten into a fight with another odd character, a young woman in a strange armored garb but it appeared that there was more to this woman, Kossori as he later overheard her name to be, than could be seen by the naked eye. This Kossori was able to move her body in ways that were humanly impossible but then there was the magic that both used at one point. However, something about her seemed to nag at him that he couldn't place.

Shadows rising and behaving as if a manipulator was controlling them, the powerful winds that Kossori had summoned, but then came the coup d'état. Oppressive magical energies the likes of which he had never felt before had paralyzed him even from where he had been spying unbeknownst to them.

The voice, the voice that spoke, though, was one he knew he had heard before. The body had been Duo's but it wasn't Duo who had been speaking. No, in his gut, his instincts knew exactly what it was that had been speaking. His more mortal and human mind took longer to accept it but when it did…

It was hard to compare the feeling of death to anything else other than itself. Zechs knew; he had come really close to biting the big one more than once. And only once did he actually get on the precipice, where he teetered between life and death did he hear that voice beckoning to him.

So, since that had been some kind of embodiment of death back there, then that could mean only one thing. Watching as Duo had returned to his normal form only confirmed it.

Duo Maxwell was the mythical Death Mage.

When he had been young and still a prince in the Sanc Kingdom, he had been taught about the Death Mage though it was mostly in reference to it being more of a figure out of myth and legend than reality. His family, the Peacecrafts had been an eminent family among the magical community, that is until the non-magical one came in in the form of the Alliance and decimated the kingdom. His magical education had to stop there for obvious reasons, many of them being for vengeance on the perpetrators.

Though removed from much of it, Zechs had been reacquainting himself with his magical talents. There was only so much that you could do on Mars and despite the company of Noin, he had found himself with little to do on that rock. For the most part, it had been administration but there was only so much that could be done on a terraforming colony involving that.

But now he was back on Earth, his inherited magical talents strengthened, and what happens to him other than to discover that a figure of legend is as real as he is.

Of course…if the Death Mage was real…

But what was he doing here in Japan? Duo Maxwell was a Gundam pilot first and foremost, this new revelation not as disturbing as the fact that he had been given no word to expect such a dangerous person to be on the same island as him. He needed to contact Une. She would know whether or not Duo was here on some undercover mission and assigned with a very…unique agent.

He should definitely not mention the more sensitive magical parts; Une was much more invested in the realm of science and law and order than something from out of a fantasy book. Odds were she would think of magic as being for children and that he shouldn't waste her time with such fantasies. If he had been a normal, non-magical person, he wouldn't have backed such a view wholeheartedly.

Duo Maxwell…the mysteries about you just seemed to be piling up, weren't they?

* * *

Blue eyes that were hard as steel opened.

He could feel it; one of his detection spells had picked something up. They weren't easy to make but with practice, this little innocuous spell could detect disruptions in magical flows so long as the disruption was large enough and powerful enough. They weren't his specialty but he had enough skill to create at maximum eight of this type of spell. Their proximities were large enough that they could sound the alert if a disruption occurred within a one hundred mile radius of the spell's center.

Of course, he couldn't have these detection spells picking up on just any kind of magical disruption. No, he had programmed them so that the spells would only pick up on the energies of the Death Mage when and if he used his powers. The downside was that the proximity was quite small for his tastes and then there was the fact that the Death Mage himself was discrete in using his abilities.

Thus he had been relocating the spells periodically. At least once he had picked up on the Death Mage's whereabouts but his intelligence would reveal that there was a Collective Seat nearby. He had to stay put and wait for a new opportunity to rise, especially since The Collective was interested in finding him. How they knew he had escaped the destruction of Castle Anthovar, he did not know but would rather not have to find out.

But now it seemed his wait was finally coming to an end, his patience paying off. As far as he knew, there were no Collective Seats in Japan or the Kyoto area. Lips that were kept in a passionless line curved upwards in anticipation.

He may not know the exact whereabouts other than the region but it was a start. Besides, he had worked with far less. If he could find the Death Mage in Rome of all places, Kyoto would not be a problem either.

Eyes glimmering with the anticipation of creating a masterpiece, Pike Verso got to work, calling in some new help and making arrangements to hunt down his prey.


	3. Trading Stories

Author's Note: Now here is a long ass chapter. Nearly ten thousand words in it. A lot of set up, exploring and getting to know our new characters, that kind of thing. If you find it boring, well, it's necessary. How will the good stuff stand out if you don't have the bland in there? Besides, do you want characters or ones who are two-dimensional? Thought not. KO's given a lot of thought and development in these newcomers and it stands to reason that the story reflects it. Who knows, you might like them. Enjoy.

Kibin Okami: Well, considering many of these characters came out of my head, they're likely to have some interesting quirks. Honestly, at least three of the characters you will see in this fic are favorites of mine. One if particular I spent a good number of years developing and I really hope she lives up to all that work. All in all, please be sure to leave reviews and enjoy.

Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing.

Warning: language

Trading Stories

The Peacecraft family had a long lineage that spanned over a millennia. Zechs was unable to recall what the actual number was but as far as he knew it went up into the quadruple digits.

Naturally, going as far back as it did, it would stand to reason that the family had knowledge on a good number of things about this world, things that many were not privy to. Zechs wouldn't be surprised to hear that other families, be they royal like the Peacecrafts or noble like those found in the former Romafellor Foundation, had involvement with magical affairs. Families with long lineages tended to be in the know though there were exceptions to the rule, for example the Dermail family.

Thus, being a family that not only knew about magic but passed it on to newer and newer generations, Zechs had had some education in magic as well as an affinity for it. He had always been that type of person who could pick things up whether it was magic or Mobile Suit piloting. He just wasn't the type of person to brag about it. If anything, pride had never been one of his vices and never would be.

He had lost so much and gained so much over his life that he found he could empathize with old graybeards more than people his own age.

He knew the basics of magic. He knew how to summon the standard balls of light, fire off typical magical blasts, had knowledge of binding spells as well as a couple healing ones, and he knew about how certain metals augmented magical power while others absorbed or neutralized it. So yes, he knew of the basics as well as some more advanced spells.

That was why he was not completely shaken by what he had witnessed at that shrine. It had been so long since he had had cause to see or even use magic that it had taken him a moment to remember it. The woman who could fly in the air, the young blond man who controlled the hungry shadows, and then there was Duo Maxwell.

He recognized wind manipulation as that was one of the four basic elemental manipulations. Shadow manipulation, that was a rare talent. The power of darkness was a more advanced elemental manipulation that inspired fear more than anything though the young man gave off the impression of being the opposite.

Duo on the other hand…he was having trouble putting his finger on it. The energies he had felt were familiar, as if he had felt them before. Memories bubbled up in his head but he pushed them down, having the need to have a clear head in case whatever Duo had become focused on him Duo hadn't and had returned to his normal self but Zechs was still wary. He needed to learn more about what this was but first he needed to take care of a more present situation.

He needed to contact Une and find out what she knew about Duo being in Japan.

It was after the third beep that Une picked up, her image flashing onto the screen of the vid-phone and as always she looked impeccable.

"Agent Wind? This is unexpected. Is there a problem?" Une asked immediately.

"With the branch? Nothing than the usual. No, it is not about this division that I am calling you Director," Zechs replied, arms resting on the armrests of his chair.

"What is it?" Une asked, frowning slightly.

"It has come to my attention recently that one of the Preventers' more specialized agents is in the Japan Region," Zechs informed. "As of right now I am unaware of what his codename would be so I will refer to him as Zero Two if that is all right with you."

Une froze. It was actually a bit amusing to the former OZ officer and colonial insurgent. Very few things could throw someone like Une off her game. But as to why he had used the retired codename of Duo Maxwell, well, it was a name that only former OZ and Romafellor officials would know. Naturally, Romafellors hadn't put much stock into the Gundam pilots but OZ? A different story altogether.

"I trust that you have not told anyone else of this," Une said, the intensity of her gaze solely on him and not in the least bit lessened by the fact that it was watered down by the screen.

"Of course not. I made sure that this was a secure line first before I made the call," Zechs stated. "I just need to know right now if Zero Two is engaged in some operation that I have not been informed of."

"Does anybody else besides yourself know about this?" Une questioned instead. "Was it someone under your command who spied Zero Two out?"

"No, it was just me," Zechs answered, somewhat surprised. "I was alone at the time and happened to spot Zero Two by accident. I did my best not to alert anyone that I knew him or make my presence known."

"Keep it to yourself," Une ordered. "Zero Two has been on a long, shall we say, undercover operation. That is all I can tell you at this time. Do not tell anyone you saw him. Do not make any moves to contact him. And above all, forget you ever saw him. Have I made myself clear?"

"Absolutely," Zechs answered. The strength of her voice…something was going on that he wasn't privy to. "What if he contacts me?"

"That will not happen. Zero Two will only contact myself and no others," Une stated. "This is a very sensitive case, Agent Wind. One wrong move on our side will compromise him and if that happens…no, that will not happen. As of now, you will follow my orders and forget what you saw today. When circumstances have changed, I will inform you myself and you are to believe no others. Am I clear?"

"Crystal. This conversation has never happened. I do not recall making it," Zechs said.

Without another word, Une nodded and the screen flashed to black.

Now this was an interesting turn of events. So the rumors were correct. Duo Maxwell was indeed in the middle of an undercover mission.

Yet he was having his doubts about it. Une wasn't telling him everything, hadn't told him a thing in fact. Did she have any idea about the other side of human society, the magic one? No, no he doubted that. Une was set in the world of science, the "real world." What business would she have of anything involving magic?

Maybe there was something else going on and perhaps whatever it was was being perpetuated by none other than the infamous braided pilot. For someone whom he had heard never told a lie, there seemed to be a lot he didn't talk about.

As much as Zechs wanted to forget about what he had seen, he already knew that he was planning on making another trip to that shrine again. If there was anything that he could call a vice, it was that he was naturally curious.

And curiosity killed the cat.

* * *

Solo scowled as he rubbed the back of his head. No, it wasn't because he was uncomfortable or that it was a nervous tick. No, he was rubbing the sore spot where Duo had managed to land his fist after his, quote, "inappropriate remark," unquote.

He didn't have to hit so hard. They were allies, friends, more than that, weren't they? Well, if that was what it was, then who needed enemies?

"There's a time and a place for that kind of stuff and that was neither!" Solo mocked under his breath.

"You say something?" Duo asked pleasantly, sparing him a glance.

"Nothin'," Solo muttered, not deigning to return the look.

Let's get back on track. There was more than the fact that Duo had smacked him that Solo didn't like. No, instead of fast talking their way like they always did, the shrine lady who called herself Kora had invited them into the shrine.

It was involuntary but shrine girls were scary when they were pissed. No sense ticking this one off more than necessary. They had agreed, planning to still fast talk their way out of this, whatever "this" was and hightail it as soon as possible. They had their own plans, thank you very much, and the sooner they were out of here, the better.

The fact there was a pouting okami nearby only gave the blond a stronger urge to get the fuck out of here.

But when had Duo become such a people person, hmm? Yeah, he knew the kid could yak with the best of them. Said a lot of stuff that essentially equaled squat yet always made you think he was actually saying something. Tricked a lot of people with that, you know? He heard some of the talk from the other guys, the other pilots to be exact. He'd be the first to admit that it was tricky cutting through all the bullshit but that was just Duo.

He said a lot without saying anything. Had to be something he came up with because Solo definitely remembered not teaching that to him.

Again, back on track, the shrine girl, Kora, was sitting across from them in that Japanese way of hers with her legs tucked under her. The pouting okami, whom he wanted to get away from, was beside her in the same position as well. Now, he wasn't some kind of supremacist or anything but he had a healthy respect for spiritual beings like this Kossori. You didn't want them pissed or depressed or pouty like this one was right now. They tended to be, what was the word, unstable? Unpredictable? Yeah, unpredictable when they were in bad moods.

This was years of ingrained survival skills talking here.

Meanwhile, he and Duo were more sprawled out, Duo leaning back on his arms while one of his legs was stretched out before him, the other bent at the knee and standing up. Solo was slumped over, one hand rubbing the back of his head and the other fisted as it rested in his lap.

"I am very interested in what happened earlier," Kora said, very demur but at the same time expressing that she would be satisfied with an answer. Anything less would be unacceptable. "Care to explain?"

"Depends on what you're looking for," Duo answered with that drawl of his.

"Just the truth," Kora answered.

"The truth could be a number of things," Duo replied flippantly. "I can tell you a lot of truth and while you might think it's a lie, trust me, I don't lie. Everything that I saw happened."

"But not necessarily when you say they did," Kora stated. "I am acquainted with the ways of omission Mr. Maxwell. I am trusting that you are willing to give me the actual truth and not some cockamamie story that is made up of little of events that did not occur today but from various points in time."

"You're a very trusting person, it seems," Duo remarked. "I hope you can forgive me for not reciprocating. I've had way too much experience with people I shouldn't have trusted but did."

Solo snorted at that but said nothing.

"Besides, I don't think you'd really believe me if I told you the truth," Duo continued, ignoring the blond.

"I wouldn't believe it if I weren't there for it," Solo added, ignoring the subtle look Duo threw at him. Screw tact. If that asshole Adrian couldn't pound it into his head, what makes you think a guy who he had seen at his most embarrassing could make a difference?

"If you haven't noticed, I happen to have a very illogical non-human sitting right next to me," Kora pointed out, ignoring the "Hey!" from Kossori. "I believe you'd find me very open to whatever you have to say."

"Again, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say that I can't return the trust you're offering," Duo said. "For all I know, you could be the last person I say anything to."

"Yeah, he has a habit of giving away too much information to people he shouldn't to," Solo said. "They always screw him over too."

"Hey, I'm a good judge of character!" Duo said, glaring at him balefully.

"Do I have to make a list?" Solo jested wryly, raising an eyebrow at the braided one.

"It's only been recent," Duo muttered.

"What's only been recent?" Kora interrupted. "It sounds to me that there's a story behind it. I would like to hear about it."

Duo flashed the shrine girl a wry grin. "I bet you would."

Next to Kora, Solo noticed that Kossori was giving Duo a look, her eyes blinking rapidly for a couple of seconds. A bit suspicious but not about to voice any of it, Solo tried to unobtrusively shift closer to Duo. Seeing the wolf girl's ear twitch, he knew she heard him and now her attention turned to him.

Commence stare off…

"How about I propose a trade?" Kora suggested. "A trade of stories. You tell yours and I shall tell ours." Kora lifted an arm and jabbed an elbow into Kossori, implying that yes the wolf girl was included in "ours." It also broke the stare off as Kossori gave Kora a startled look.

"Interesting," Duo said. "But what guarantee do I have that you'll keep your end of the bargain and for that matter not turn against us?" He turned purple eyes towards Solo for a second and then returned them to Kora

"Do I look like the type of person who has a trap set up for loud houseguests?" Kora asked.

"I don't know, are you?" Duo countered.

"First of all, the priestess is not the sort to assault some stranger in the sanctity of this shrine," Kossori spoke up. "Second, if she wanted to cause you harm, she would have done so already."

"A valid point. Is this true?" Duo asked.

"Kossori knows from experience," Kora said in reply.

Duo stared them down, the two women returning him look for look. Solo noticed how Duo's eyes glazed over for a few seconds but continued to watch his old friend and something more, waiting for a reply. If it was in the negative, they were cheesing it, pouting okamis be damned.

"Eh, why not," Duo shrugged, speaking at last though it sounded more like to Solo that Duo was speaking to someone else that wasn't in this room. "Sure, I guess we—"

"We? Who's we?" Solo grunted.

"—we are willing to engage in a chat, gossip, whatever you want to call it," Duo said. "I just hope you don't betray my trust."

Kora smiled wanly but it was Kossori who spoke. "You are being very rude. I think it's a very nice of gesture of Kora's to not be kicking your ass for your insolence!"

"Oh? And can you say that you haven't met anyone that has betrayed your trust?" Duo asked dryly. "If you have, boy would I like to be in your shoes."

Once again Kossori seemed to freeze for a second but she was back to the living in no time though she was giving Duo a queer look. "Calm down Kossori, his fears are justified," Kora said. "Our world doesn't have the most trustworthy folk in it. I think the fact that our guests are willing to open up is more a positive step. If he chooses to be rude, well there is karma. What goes around comes around. Let him get his insecurities out of the way so that we can have a more proper chat."

Solo noticed a twitch in Duo's face when Kora commented on his insecurity. It was worth a chuckle but Solo didn't heed the call. He still had that challenge to do, after all.

"I am…right…that the two of you are aware of magic and the community involved with it, right?" Duo asked.

"I believe that's obvious," Kossori snorted. How unwomanly of her, Solo thought to himself.

"We are," Kora confirmed, ignoring the other. "I will add that we are a bit isolated, though. There are things moving in this…other world you could call it that we are not in the know of."

"Okay, okay," Duo hummed. "Well, have either of you two heard of something called the Death Mage?"

"Never heard of it," Kora said.

"Vaguely," Kossori shrugged. "Is it some kind of title some human gave himself to make himself sound more intimidating?"

"You know, that would make my life so much easier if that was the case," Duo remarked, seemingly gazing into nothing but coming back to reality just as quickly. "I'll admit, it does sound like something somebody would come up with because it was scary sounding. But it's all too real."

"Let me guess, you're this Death Mage," Kossori deadpanned. "What does that even mean?"

"Speaking of being rude," Kora commented pointedly, Kossori's ear twitching at that.

"Yeah, yeah you're correct Kossori," Duo said. "I am the Death Mage."

"You could say that with some pride, ya know," Solo said idly.

"Maybe but it's not all it's cracked up to be," Duo replied.

"So what is a Death Mage?" Kora asked.

"Well, you know all about death, right?" Duo asked. Kora nodded her head in the affirmative while Kossori just looked back with half-lidded eyes. "As it turns out, Death is an actual living embodiment of some kind. He's never really explained it in a way that I can understand. Anyway, every so often, this entity, Death, chooses a person in the living world and gifts them with the powers of death. That means the power to control life or death, who lives and who dies, and a lot of other stuff that's minor in comparison."

"I have never heard of that before," Kora said, enraptured with the explanation.

"I've…heard of something like that before but I have never really put two and two together," Kossori said quietly. "To be honest…I never really believed in it in the first place."

"It's real," Solo stated, feeling the need to come to Duo's defense. "What do you think that freaky skull thing is?"

It was obvious when Kossori shuddered, not wanting to remember it.

"Freaky skull thing, that's a nice way to put it," Duo said.

"I try," Solo said proudly.

"Try harder," Duo said then turned back to Kora and Kossori. "So, where were we? Right, the Death Mage has all this awesome power and blah, blah, blah. Well, that's only half the story. You see, there are some nasty folks in this world who want that power for themselves. By any chance, have either of you ever heard of The Collective?"

"That's a name I've heard before," Kora nodded.

"Same here," Kossori shrugged. "Why do they want you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Take over the world. Godhood. Stuff like that," Duo answered nonchalantly. "If there's anybody in this world you don't want to meet, it's those guys. Unfortunately, when it comes to magic, these guys happen to be some of the strongest magic users around."

"Freakin' unfair," Solo muttered as he crossed his arms.

"For the past two years, these guys have done nothing but hunt me down and make my life a living hell," Duo sighed. "At least I have Solo here. Sure he's sharp around the edges but I wouldn't have anybody else by my side through this."

"Aw, you're makin' me blush," Solo said as he reached an arm over and around Duo's shoulders. Pulling him close, he pecked him on the forehead and pressed his cheek into Duo's lush, brown-haired head. Both Kora and Kossori were staring at them dumbly, not expecting to see such affection.

Solo thought it was very mature of him not to stick his tongue at them.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were trying to mark your territory," Kossori said, the first to regain her wits.

That was a nice way to put it. Really, he was just being affectionate but yeah, he didn't want any of these gals thinking that Duo was a single bachelor who happened to be available. Might as well spoil their hopes and dreams of catching this piece of man-meat now instead of waiting until later when their hopes were up. And no, he wasn't talking about himself.

"Sometimes I wonder," Duo sighed, almost as if he agreed with the other's assessment. "So that's our story," he said. "And if I remember right, we had a little deal didn't we? A bargain's a bargain, ain't it?"

Kora and Kossori shared looks with one another. "That is the deal," Kora agreed.

"Oh goody!" Duo chirped as he wormed his way out of Solo's embrace. "Story time! Make it a good one!" he exclaimed as he threw himself onto his stomach propping his head on top of his hands which were held up by his elbows.

"Yes…" Kora said slowly, taken a bit off guard by Duo's childishness. It was something you got used to. "Well…I suppose…" she trailed off as she looked over at Kossori. The two seemed to be communicating something between one another though what it was, Solo could not say. "I guess I can recount that marvelous time that I…met this specimen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kossori frowned at Kora.

"Hush you," Kora said. "Now where do I begin? Well, I believe it all started when…"

* * *

It was all over town; the war was over. The thrice damn war was finally over. No more fighting, no more dying, no more war ever.

Whether or not the war was over did not mean that Kora still didn't need to finish up her errands. She did and those tasks weren't going to finish themselves. Even though hundreds if not thousands of kilometers above her there was a battle concluding, it was still a sunny day in Kyoto, a few white clouds here and there peppering the sky.

To be honest, she hadn't really kept up with what was going on. There was just so much fighting, giant Mobile Suits made of gundanium alloy running around, military coups, and so many declarations of war ending that she had just begun tuning it all out. None of it had ever invaded the sanctity of the shrine that she had made her home in. So long as it didn't, Kora wouldn't mind anything about military combat.

Currently as she walked down the sidewalk, her arms laden with bags that held the fruits of her errands, she was passing by one of the schools in this city just as a shrill bell rang out of it. Well, she had timed this perfectly, hadn't she? She was going to be crushed by the stampeding feet of escaping students who wanted nothing more than to have fun shopping or at the arcade, getting fast food, and all sorts of stuff that teenagers did nowadays. Was there even an arcade still around? The most pressing of questions, of course.

Regardless, she slowed down as the first of many students herded out of the building and then the front gate. None spared her any glance, not that Kora was looking for any acknowledgment of her existence mind you. Still, her arms were getting a bit tired from holding all this stuff. She only had a few blocks or so before she reached the steps of the shrine but that was still some distance away. If only she could have hailed a taxi earlier…

She stiffened. She could feel something…something that did not blend in with this rabble of teenagers who were fleeing academic confinement. This feeling…she only felt it when there was a spiritual being or demonic presence about, something that was inhuman regardless of what it was. This sense of hers wasn't something foreign to her; in fact it was a skill that was passed on down her family for generations.

There! Right there, one of the students who was parting from the others, going on by her lonesome. This inhuman sensation was wafting all over her. Kora narrowed her eyes. What was this other worldly being doing? And among all these innocent bystanders? This required investigation.

It was unfortunate that Kora wasn't the type to let things play themselves out. She waded through the flowing river of students and after some jostling she was on the other side and hot on the heels of this girl. She took long, quick steps and when she was only a meter or two away, the girl she was hunting paused and looked over her shoulder.

It was at that time that Kora tossed aside her bags and whipped out a charm.

And then the girl was taking off. Kora groaned to herself and continued the chase.

The girl was faster than she was, her long white hair whipping behind her teasingly. Kora swore that the girl was leading her around because she would put some distance between her and then inexplicably slow down. No really. One time when Kora thought she lost her, she looked up only to see the girl waiting at an intersection, waiting to cross.

Okay, now she was just taunting her.

Narrowing her eyes, Kora pulled out more of her charms and wards and began laying them against any surface she could and as she continued to chase after the girl, she continued laying the wards down. It was when the girl returned to one of the streets where some wards had been laid down that Kora realized that she had been running in circles but thankfully now she was cut off from them.

Time to corner this bitch.

However, her plans came to naught. Instead of herding this being like she had planned, the girl purposely led her to a more secluded area. It made no sense to Kora why this girl was doing this. Was she tired of running? Maybe that was the case when she caught up and there the girl was, facing her with an amused smirk on her face.

Breathing heavily, Kora demanded, "What are you up to?"

Her answer came in the reply of the girl transforming into her true form—

"Wait, true form? What's that supposed to mean?" Duo started at this as he gave an incredulous look at the okami.

"I guess you could say that yes, the way you see Kossori now is her true form, however, in other ways it isn't." Sighing at the confused looks but humoring them she continued. "She actually can go from this form to another form which is a giant white wolf. I cannot describe it any further without doing it great injustice. But as I was saying…"

She was on her back, the tumultuous winds knocking her back and off her feet. Even now she could not believe the sight she had just seen if only for a minute. It seemed like she had bitten off more than she could chew this time. She could feel the oppressiveness of the creature's energies, the aura settling over everything.

Well, if she was to die then she would face it. She would not back down. She would—where did she go? She was sitting up but the spirit before her was nowhere to be seen. Had she escaped? Or had she just left, judging her to be nothing more than a nuisance? That last one bugged her but so long as she was alive…

As she got up, she could hear the wind chimes from the shrine…wait, since when did they get here? She had been so focused on chasing this spirit that she hadn't noticed…but they were several hundred meters away from the shrine. The trees were blocking it from sight but sure enough, if she went in that direction, she'd find herself home.

As she turned around to face the direction of where the shrine was, Kora barely managed to contain the scream that was bubbling up from within as there, right there, leaning against a tree was none other than that girl, the spirit she had been chasing.

Again, the spirit's lips were curled up slightly in a small smile or maybe it was a smirk, light purple eyes gleaming in amusement at her. Kora gaped at the girl, unable to come up with anything she could do. The spirit, on the other hand, seemed to know this as she held a hand up and said.

"'Sup."

* * *

Duo stared at Kora, thinking that she had misspoken. He continued to stare, in fact, for an indeterminable amount of time, still trying to wrap his mind around it. All the while, Kora remained all calm and perky, if you could call it that, and patient he guessed.

But still, he couldn't get it through his head that this shrine girl who was all prim and proper said…

"'Sup'," he repeated slowly, his eyelids moving over his eyes in a slow blink.

"That's what she said," Kora nodded, still with that patient expression on her face.

Duo turned his head to look at Solo who just so happened to be mimicking him and the two shared a look. Together, they turned back to Kora, Kossori smirking in amusement at the two of them though that was just in the periphery.

"Okay," Duo said simply. "Sounds like something I would've said."

"Really," Kora said. For some reason, Duo had the feeling that she didn't believe him.

"So…what happened next?" Duo asked.

"Making a long story short, Kossori was insufferable," Kora answered without pause.

"I was not!" Kossori protested.

"My mistake, she followed me back to the shrine like a lost puppy," Kora corrected herself.

"I didn't do that either!" Kossori exclaimed.

"Then what, pray tell, would you call it?" Kora asked, tilting her head slightly in such a way that it looked like she was looking at the okami without actually turning her head to the side.

"I'd been meanin' ta come back 'ere, that's all. You just happened to be comin' 'ere too," Kossori answered, putting her nose up in the air like some kind of snob.

"Mmm hmm? That's not how I remembered it," Kora said, returning her attention to the two males in the room. "Like I said, she followed me back, taunting me about how easy I was. I slapped a ward on her as soon as I entered the gate and left her out in the cold to cool her head. She was much more tolerable in the morning and only after I offered her a chocolate bar."

"Ain't that bad for animals ta be eatin' chocolate?" Solo asked, genuinely curious.

"I'm an okami, not yer everyday common wolf," Kossori stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I like chocolate. The greatest invention humans ever came up with."

"Turns out Kossori lived here a long time ago, back when the shrine was much bigger," Kora continued, cutting off that trail of conversation. "Was raised here, right?"

"Right," Kossori confirmed, nodding her head.

"And after she had grown up considerably, she took off to explore the world and after who knows how long, she's back here and hasn't left my side ever since," Kora finished. "I guess you could say that this was her home a long time ago and I couldn't refuse throwing her out of it."

"Like I would let cha," Kossori teased, giving Kora a sly look.

"I've been tempted ever since," Kora added.

"Riveting," Duo said. "Well, it's been nice meeting you two. Sorry 'bout all the trouble earlier and while it's been fun, we gotta go."

"Why?" It was Kossori who spoke up first and she was staring at the two of them owlishly.

"Places to be, things to do," Duo said cheerfully as he slowly stood up, stretching his arms into the air as he worked a kink or two out of his back.

"Where're ya going ta go?" Kossori pressed, a hardness appearing in her eyes as she stood up, arms still folded in front of her chest. Duo noted it but didn't think much of it.

"Who knows?" Solo shrugged his shoulders, moving closer to Duo's side. "But we haveta keep movin'."

"Not to copy Kossori but why?" Kora asked.

"You remembered that group we mentioned earlier, The Collective?" Duo asked in answer. When the two females nodded, "Well they have a nasty talent for fucking things up. They ruin the lives of all who get in their way, they kill those who even have an inkling of who they are, and they will hurt and kill anyone who has contact with the Death Mage, that is me. You two gals have made a nice niche for yourselves and I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for destroying that. The less contact we have with you, the better off you'll be."

"The better off…? You make it sound like yer a danger ta us," Kossori stated.

"I'm a danger to every fucking person I brush up against on the street," Duo snorted. "It's just some of the people I know are like magnets to trouble and happen to live more often than not. I hardly know either of you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you. If anything, you're safer the further I get away from you."

"And what about Solo?" Kora asked calmly.

"I choose ta stick ta Duo," Solo declared, squaring his shoulders. "I ain't gonna let him face this alone."

"Who are you to say that we don't also choose to do the same?" Kora asked, directing the question at Duo. "In days long past, this shrine took in weary travelers no matter who they were and granted them sanctuary from the evils of the world if only for a night. It would be dishonorable of us not to offer the same to you."

"We can take care of ourselves just fine," Kossori added. "I don't care who these Collective asses think they are. This land is hallowed and protected. No one of malicious intent may set foot on it. Not without paying a price."

"Ladies, I'm flattered but this is for your own good," Duo tried to protest.

"Do ya know what they used ta call me a long time ago?" Kossori asked, stepping closer to the pair. "I am Kossori of the North Wind. That may not mean anything now but a century 'go it was a big deal. I am no ord'nary okami. I've done this dance b'fore. Let this Collective throw e'erything they got at me. I'll take'em all down."

"No," Duo said, holding a hand up as if physically trying to stop her. "I can't let you do that. Either of you."

"It is our choices, isn't it?" Kora pointed out. "We are choosing to offer you shelter and protection for however long you need it."

"You're being a bit pushy 'bout it, don't'cha think?" Solo said, coming to their defense.

"Ya think this is 'pushy'?" Kossori snorted. "If ya think we're gonna let you two idiots walk out of 'ere after tellin' us 'bout how much danger you are in, you got another thing comin'." Without warning, Kossori dropped onto a knee, her head bowed. Duo felt the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand up as if there was some kind of static electricity going around. "I swear on the North Wind, the South, the West, and the East, and on the blood that give me life, I bestow on you, the Death Mage, my fealty and servitude. E'ery enemy that seeks you shall know mah claws. E'ery man who raises a hand to harm you shall know my merciless wrath. So long as I draw breath, no one shall bequeath upon you offense. All this and more do I pledge as your guardian." There was a great powerful meaning to her words and the air around seemed to still as she finished.

Duo couldn't help but be slack jawed. What was…? Was she…? Was she for real?

"Take what you can get, Death Mage," Kora commented. "Kossori is a powerful ally and she does not make such pledges thoughtlessly. She is now bound to her word. From what I can see, you're going to need all the help you can get if you want to survive the attention of The Collective. My advice is that you accept her pledge and the offer to share this roof."

Duo shared another look with Solo. "I'm not going to get out of this, am I?"

"Hope this teaches ya never ta hide out in a shrine," Solo replied.

* * *

When the moon hung in the sky, accompanied by the army of stars that glittered around it, and their two guests had turned in for the night, Kora approached Kossori before the wolf could retire as well.

"What is it?" the shrine maiden bluntly asked the okami, showing none of the patience that she had given to their guests.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the wolf spirit replied and tried to make her way towards her room.

"Earlier," Kora clarified. "You made that pledge to serve the Death Mage. Would you care to explain yourself."

"I thought it was obvious," Kossori answered, continuing to be evasive.

"I'm asking about your reasoning," Kora elaborated. "I may not know everything about you but I know enough to know that you're not one to swear loyalty to some stranger out of the blue."

"Would you have rather let them walk passed the gates?" Kossori asked quietly.

"If you wanted to keep them here for the night, you already knew that I was prepared to persuade them to do so," Kora said. "Yet you took matters into your own hands. Normally you're more cautious about the people who set foot in the shrine. And they explained the dangers of letting them stay. Despite all that, you made that pledge. Why?"

"Why shouldn't—"

"Don't give me some excuse, I want the truth," Kora interrupted, forcing Kossori to look her in the eye.

Kossori only held eye contact for a second before she looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Kora said.

For a moment, Kossori said nothing but Kora was patient by nature. She also had prolonged exposure to this spirit. She knew how to work through the wolf's defenses, how to tease out little bits of information that Kossori sought to keep under wraps. The pressure of silence was usually one way to do it, especially when it was blended in with expectation.

"He…reminds me of someone I knew once," Kossori said softly.

"Who?" Kora asked.

Again, Kossori fell silent but Kora could see that the okami's mind was anywhere but the present. Again she fell silent, waiting for Kossori to continue.

"He was just another mortal. That's all," Kossori stated. "The Death Mage…Duo, he reminds me of him. There's nothing more to it."

"There's more, isn't there?" Kora pressed.

Instead of remaining passive, Kossori's eyes snapped over her and the light purple hues were darkened with the fire of anger and frustration. Kora knew that to be a sign that she was treading into dangerous territory. Time to let up and let her stew for a while. Then Kossori would be more pliable for more interrogation.

"I'll let it go for now," Kora said. "But remember, I know that you don't just do something like this for no reason."

"How can I forget when you keep reminding me?" Kossori grumbled and pulled away from the shrine maiden, putting some distance between them.

Kora never took her eyes off the other.

* * *

Across the globe and on an entirely different continent, Director Une of the Preventers was in a contemplative mood. She had been for the few hours since she had received a call from Agent Wind in the Japan district and she would be the first to admit that she hadn't anticipated the topic of the call.

So Duo and Solo were in the same neighborhood as Wind. It was some kind of miracle that the man known as Zechs Merquise was able to spy out someone like Duo Maxwell and in a crowd no less. One thing that she had learned about Pilot 02 during the wars was that he was an expert at disappearing. Not going undercover like Trowa Barton would but literally disappearing off the face of the Earth and in the Colonies themselves. She knew little about his methods but all that mattered was that they were effective.

It had been some time, though. She hadn't seen that braided man or his tall, blond companion in two years. She had heard about some of his "exploits" and usually through select channels and had received a few calls that Duo claimed was just "checking in" but other than that, pfft.

Death's Hand would be more than interested in this tidbit. The self-proclaimed servants of the Death Mage were more than eager to serve their master but only if they could locate them first. As a member of this group, it was Une's duty to inform them of this development.

On the contrary, Duo, the Death Mage himself, had asked her to cover for him when he left. On one hand she was serving the Death Mage but on the other she was not working in the interest of Death's Hand. Yet Death's Hand's purpose for being was to serve the Death Mage in whatever manner deemed fit.

Une would admit that she wasn't so sure that allowing Duo to walk away back in Rome was the best thing.

Over the past two years, it had been close call after close call. While she hadn't physically been there, she had learned about all the situations that had occurred. The Collective had been stepping up its activities and on more than one occasion was Duo found to have been caught by one of the seated members of the shadowy organization. And yet, time and time again, somehow the Death Mage would free himself, usually leaving a newly deceased seated member in his wake.

Those seated members weren't some run-of-the-mill magic user. They had some power that was to be both respected and feared. Either it was a testament to Duo's mastery of magic or it was the power of the Death Mage himself that was thwarting The Collective's goals.

Regardless, Une had been waging a similar yet different campaign. She had not been idle during this time period. Nor had any of the other Gundam pilots who were in the know. She had begun using both the resources of the Preventers and Death's Hand to identify then eliminate various members of The Collective. On a couple incidents, seated members were terminated, hopefully easing the pressure on Duo to hide.

What kind of an impact that had on The Collective was left to speculation. Despite knowing as much as she did about it, the group itself remained quite enigmatic.

Nothing more was enigmatic than the mysterious First Seat and according to some new intelligence, the master of The Collective was stirring. Though she herself lacked magical talent, even she shuddered at that piece of news. From all accounts, the man that lorded over The Collective had massive magical power at his command though no one knew just how much he had.

Not even the spirit of her beloved Excellency, Trieze Khushrenada could tell her much. Though he was deceased, the threat of The Collective had the only man she could ever love woken from his eternal slumber to try and save his truest love, humanity. Limited by the fact he could not interact in the physical, living world did not mean that the dead leader of OZ was not searching the realms beyond this one for answers to save humanity one more time.

It had been a while since she had had contact with him. Hopefully he had found something and was being thorough and learning more about it.

Hopefully.

But back to the matter at hand, Wind's call. It was so out of the blue and unexpected that the man once known as Zechs Merquise and Milliardo Peacecraft would catch sight of the most wanted person in the world. Was this some kind of omen? No, she shouldn't think like that. This was random, perfectly accidental. By all logic, it stood to reason that one day someone she knew would happen to spot Duo. At least it wasn't the other pilots. For the past two years, they had been quite unbearable.

At the very least, she was sure that Wind's unexpected call had been secure. Her line was one of the safest numbers in the entire government agency. She had had some of the best hackers the world over and in the Colonies, the Gundam pilots included, ensure that it was safe.

The last thing she needed was for the wrong people to have tapped into her connection.

* * *

The security of Une's communications line was one of the best on Earth, Colonies not included, but it wasn't as secure as many would believe it to be. It was an extremely little known fact that one of the architects of this line had left a little link behind, one that would not be noticed unless attention was called to it.

It was very fortunate that out of all the possible individuals who would have done this, it was none other than Heero Yuy who was responsible for its existence. Yes he had been consulted and helped devised this incredibly secure line but paranoia was a little trait that had been ingrained in this young man. He snuck in his little link into the development of the line for the sole purpose of making sure that not even Director Une was above being responsible for her duties.

Who watched the people who watched for any threat imaginable?

Trust was a rare commodity for someone like Heero and so far, only four people in the entire human race could claim to have it. Who these people were was classified and would not be revealed for threat of compromise.

So yes, Heero spied on all communications that went into Une's office, making sure that one of the most influential women in the government was being kept in check when the call from Japan came in.

Never had he ever regretted putting that bug in. Because of his paranoia, for the first time in two years he had a solid clue to Duo's whereabouts. Yes, the sighting reported by Zechs may have occurred hours ago but never before had he been this close. Usually the sightings he found were days if not weeks behind Duo's movements. After all this time he was only hours behind this time.

But as much as he wanted to act, to commandeer the nearest aviation vehicle, he knew that such rash actions would work against him. For one, there were the other pilots who were just as eager to find their errant comrade. Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa, no matter what the latter said about respecting Duo's decisions, were all looking forward to seeing their prodigal pilot again.

In fact, he just sent a message for them all to come to his office right now so that he could brief them on a sensitive "case" that had just been updated. He had maybe two or three minutes for them to show up.

Now, for the second reason, if he did act rashly and head out to Japan without notice, Une was his superior and would intervene. How many times had she had to remind him of how tenuous his freedom was because of those conditional pardons?

He was trying to live up to the words he preached: "live by your emotions." His emotions were warring with him on this unnecessary delay. They here gnawing at his impressive self-restraint and he was more than willing to give in to them.

In agitation, he unintentionally jerked an arm, his elbow running into a white Styrofoam cup and knocking it over, spilling the water contained within it out.

As the liquid spread out from its fragile prison, it suddenly halted and froze in place.

Heero's brow creased, his dark blue eyes glaring at the water intensely.

Slowly, the water began to recede, returning to the cup from wince it had been resting in. Nothing was left in its retreating wake, not even moisture that could dampen the various sheets of paper that laid ordered on his desk. The water continued moving into the cup and caused the upended cup to tilt back into its former upright position.

It was as if it hadn't been knocked over in the first place.

Heero smirked and wiggled a few of his fingers, three orbs of the clear liquid rising out of the cup and circling one another, orbiting around an empty space. The orbs continued their dance even as Heero raised his hand closer to them and allowed the spheres of liquid to roll around his fingers in lieu of empty space.

He was getting better at this.

"You're getting better at this." It was much a credit to Heero's force of will and concentration that the balls of water did not splatter though they did shudder. With force of will alone, he ordered the orbs of water back into the cup before any kind of accident could occur.

"Trowa," he acknowledged as soon as the water was safely back in the Styrofoam cup.

"Still practicing?" Trowa asked as he removed himself from the doorway and took a seat in front of Heero's desk. "You ought to be more careful when you do those exercises. The door was open when I arrived."

Heero didn't show it but he cursed at himself for such an oversight. Quatre didn't spend all that time teaching them magic for them to out themselves because of a stupid lapse.

Yes, despite the two years since Rome, none of the pilots had been idle. In fact, it had been Wufei's idea for Quatre to teach them the skills necessary for them to engage The Collective on a more even playing field. Quatre had been reluctant at first but their logic had ultimately prevailed. If they were to be better able to aid Duo against his enemies, they would need new weapons and skills.

They were in a war of magic; guns and bombs could only take you so far against an enemy with an indeterminable store of resources.

It had been fortunate that the three of the non-magic users of the pilots were in peak physical condition. Better still, their minds were highly trained and could be clear of all internal distractions in an instant. They were the ideal candidates for receiving a magical education.

That is not to say that their training was easy. It wasn't. It took months before any of them were able to first grasp the threads of magical energy and a few more to do basic spells. In fact, it had only been six months ago that the three of them had been able to become manipulators.

That had naturally been accomplished by Quatre taking them in one at a time into the Astral Plains and introducing the projections of their centers and pushing them into them. As he admitted later, he did the same thing with Duo back when they had been staying in the Caribbean.

Heero did not like that place. His "true self" as Quatre had called it was nothing like how he was in the real world. That and the fact that physics did not exist there either was unnerving to him.

"Thank you for the reminder. I will make sure it's locked next time," Heero said, his tone of voice not conveying gratitude or sarcasm.

"Make sure what is locked?" Quatre asked as he entered, Wufei following after him.

"Just the door," Trowa answered, giving Wufei a pointed look. Wufei understood it for what it was and closed the door to Heero's office, locking it.

"What is this about?" Wufei asked though it sounded more like he was demanding more than asking.

"I intercepted a call to Une earlier. It was about Duo," Heero informed them.

"Where?" Quatre demanded, not bothering to be polite. The blond-haired man had his hands placed on Heero's desk and his body was leaning forward.

"Japan District," Heero answered. "The sighting occurred as of now only a few hours ago," he added before any of the other three could say anything.

Wufei crossed his arms, his coal-black eyes a glow. "So it's recent."

"Do you know where in Japan?" Trowa asked, a green eye peering from behind a large shock of light brown hair that covered a good amount of his face. It was a wonder that nobody had him cut it yet.

"The Kyoto area."

"Kyoto? Why is it that I feel that I need to know something about that?" Wufei wondered out loud.

"We have a Preventers' branch in that city," Heero answered.

"That's where Agent Wind is stationed, isn't he?" Quatre pointed out, his blue eyes deep in thought.

"Yes, transferred from Mars to get that branch into shape," Trowa said. "Zechs Merquise has nothing to do with this, does he?"

"He was the one who spotted Duo," Heero reported.

Quatre groaned, pulling away from Heero's desk. Resting an elbow on one of his palms, held his chin with his other hand, a thumb pressed against his bottom lip in contemplation. "Great, so someone who can recognize us without having to look us up is the one to find him. It could have been worse."

At this point, someone would have said, "So what's the plan?" However the person who usually said it was Duo and he was not here to say it, making his absence even more striking. Thus, nobody said it. Instead, the three newcomers to magic waited for their blond leader to speak first.

As if noticing the same thing that Heero did, Quatre was quick to end the uncomfortable silence. "I can have a flight arranged and we can be out within the hour. Deborah will be most insistent about that. We can also pull some strings so that no one will be the wiser of our sudden disappearance from headquarters. Hopefully we can get to Japan, find Duo, and bring him back here with us before we get close to violating our pardons."

"Are we sure we should do this?" Trowa asked. "Duo didn't want us following after him because he didn't want us to get hurt because of him. And can we be sure that we won't be leading The Collective to him?"

"There are many ways to hide your tracks," Quatre answered. "Some of them are the ways we employed during the wars, others are of the magical variety. Between the two, I'm sure we can prevent The Collective from using us."

"And after we find him, you know that Duo doesn't like to be forced to stay in one place for too long," Trowa argued. "Remember what happened last time? He kept venturing out without any of us knowing where he went. Duo defying our attempts to keep him safe have gotten all of us in more trouble than we wanted and on more than one occasion hurt. It was because of us that he was captured by Xavien. Do you think The Collective won't try to use us again to capture Duo?"

"We are more wiser to their tactics and strategies," Wufei said. "And we haven't been sitting on our hands either Barton. We have been eliminating various leaders of The Collective. They are not as strong as they were two years ago."

Heero nodded in agreement. They weren't some bit players who served to be used as live bait or hostages. They were stronger now and better equipped to handle whatever their enemies threw at them.

"It's better that we know where Duo is than have to worry about where he is and if he's been captured," Quatre stated. "We have all agreed that we want to protect Duo. That has been the role of my family for generations. I have a duty to fulfill but more than that I have a friend who is more like a brother to me who needs safety and security more than any other person in the world or the Colonies. This is our best lead to date. We should follow it while we still have the time."

"What about Solo?" Trowa mentioned.

Heero slightly grimaced at that name. Solo. He didn't like to think about that tall, blond menace. They didn't exactly get along and he didn't like how close he was to Duo. He didn't like it at all.

He knew little about the blond. Just that Duo had known him before they had even met and from the way Duo had acted around him, there was some respect, even admiration, from the braided pilot. In contrast, he, Heero, only had Duo's respect and not his admiration. The same could go for the other pilots; respect without admiration. Solo, on the other hand, was more disrespectful and was always abrasive when Duo was the topic. And anything that Heero was involved in that included Solo in it always had to do with Duo.

Well, now that he had a clue to Duo's whereabouts, Heero was more than willing to take advantage of it. This was his opportunity to truly prove himself to Duo and hopefully gain some affection from the American nationality.

By affection, he didn't mean platonic.

"You know Duo, he won't go anywhere without him," Wufei said. Pausing, he amended, "Far. He won't go too far without Solo."

"We'll have to bring him along if we expect to keep Duo where we want him," Quatre nodded, no objections coming from him.

Heero remained quiet, not saying anything. He would prefer that they ditch the blond annoyance but he knew that what his comrades were saying rang true. No matter; just because it would be harder to explore a more intimate relationship with Duo didn't mean he was giving up. On the contrary, he was more than determined to accomplish this personal mission.

"I suppose I'll tag along to make sure no one does anything excessive," Trowa said. "I'll be sure to mention that none of this was my idea."

Wufei rolled his eyes but you could tell he was more amused than put off. Quatre was the same only he chuckled. Heero expressed nothing, not seeing any point to respond.

"Then it's settled. We're heading for Japan," Quatre declared.

To Japan. And Duo.


End file.
